Our Correspondent
Imphal, July 28 (EMN): After resigning from the post of president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), Congress MLA Govindas Konthoujam resigned from the Manipur Legislative Assembly today, official sources said.
The Manipur Legislative Assembly secretariat issued a bulletin in this regard on Wednesday. “Shri Konthoujam Govindas, elected from 26-Bishnupur Assembly Constituency has resigned his membership from the Manipur Legislative Assembly,” said Secretary M Ramani Devi of Manipur Legislative Assembly, in the bulletin. "Consequent upon his resignation,26-Bishnupur Assembly Constituency is now lying vacant with effect from Wednesday, the 28th July 2021.”
Meanwhile sources from Congress Bhavan in Imphal said that Govindas Konthoujam,a seasoned politician, also resigned from the primary membership of the Congress party today itself.
However, newly appointed interim president of MPCC N Loken Singh said that the party was yet to accept the resignation.
On the reasons behind MLA's resignation, Loken, a sitting MLA who was also elected five times in the state assembly on Congress ticket from Nambol assembly constituency in Bishnupur district, opined that the reasons could be personal. The Congress leader also informed that the party had started preparation for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. He also rejected the unconfirmed reports on social media that some congress MLAs were also leaving the party.
Govindas Konthoujam, former minister and six-times elected MLA from Bishnupur district who resigned from the post of president of MPCC last week, couldn’t be contacted for his comment till the filing of the report.
With the resignation of Govindas Konthoujam, the 60-member Manipur assembly has been reduced to a strength of 53 members(BJP-24,Congress-16).Earlier three members were disqualified and three BJP MLAs resigned.
In the last assembly elections, Congress emerged as the single largest party in the North Eastern border state by winning 28 seats out of 60 seats. However despite winning 21 seats to Congress’s 28, BJP had been able to form government in Manipur in 2017 with support of four National People’s Party MLAs, four Naga People's Front MLAs and one MLA each from TMC, Lok Janshakti Party and an Independent.